An Investigation On the Cross Cultural Factors That Regulate Malaysians in Choosing International Brands

Nowadays buying, selling and modern technologies in Malaysia provide great opportunities for international brands to expand across different ethnic groups. Therefore, it is very important to know the cultural differences and their possible influence on the people’s behavior when choosing an international brand (Sian et al., 2010; Leo, 2005). The aim of this research is to investigate the cross cultural factors that regulate Malaysians in choosing international brand. The study is ethnographic in nature and aims to share a broad description of the experiences and perceptions of thirty three respondents. Data were collected from thirty three respondents using open-ended questions (unstructured interview). The information obtained from the open-ended questions was recorded into narratives. The method used to analyze the data was narrative analysis. The business owners and consumers with good knowledge in cross cultural factors and international brand were the respondents. The results show that power distance, masculinity, long term orientation and uncertainty avoidance are cross cultural factors that influence Malaysians in choosing international brands.